carefully pokes her head into the room
Ahm...hello everyone! '' It's me again...I know, I know I should have posted this ages ago...After all, I've promised it would arrive soon...but it seems I'd better be careful with such promises. With all the comings and goings we're having here lately, I can never know when time will allow me to write again... :(
One thing's for sure though! I'll never abandon this story! Neveeer I say! Updates may come randomly with long pauses in between now and then, but I won't give up on this work till I can see the finish line:D There are many more chapters to be completed, so the only real thing needed for them to reach these boards is time. I intend to cut down all the pauses to a limited extent! ;D
Thank you all for being patient with me and following the progress of this story, despite it's slow corses at times:D
Chapter Five:
She regarded Lyloo's reaction with a happy smile.
"Good to see you again Lyloo my friend, it has been ages since we last met!", she said, also overwhelmedwith joy.
Lyloo finally shook her first surprise off and embraced her long seen lass with a wide grin.
If Nolee was like a sister to her, than Melory was like a niece to Lyloo. They have met each other very long ago, when Nil Cleeve has visited his old friend here on Eoz for a few days. His daughter came along with him and the two young girls quickly grew to like each other. They have instantly become good friends.
Lyloo admired Melory in many ways. Her patience, her kind-heartedness and helpful nature were traits she loved in a person very much. However, Melory had an other interesting feature as well...she was Force-sensitive. She possessed abilities that made Lyloo's mouth drop...Lifting up objects without touching them and improving the use of lightsabers were not a common site to her. Back then, Melory was a young Padawan who was learning to become a Jedi Knight one day...
"Yes, long time no see...too long!", Lyloo replied, letting go of her friend. "What are you doing here...?", she asked with a small laughter, but then, she suddenly remembered and added, her smile fading, "In this time of war?"
Melory lowered her head a little, hearing that.
"Well, I'm afraid I'm one of the active participants in this neverending battle...", came her quiet answer. "I am so terribly sorry you've gotten involved in all this."
"We don't even know what it is in which we got involved!", Lyloo spread her arms out in the air with exasperation.
"We were just discussing that before you came along.", Alton told her stepping closer to the girls.
"Melory came here with a small group of Jedi Knights to intercept the enemy."
"The enemy?", Lyloo asked, looking from her father to Melory, then back again.
"The Separatists...", the Nelvaan female answered, trailing off in thought for a moment.
"And guess what splendid news she has to share with us!", Alton exclaimed once more with a wide grin on his face.
"Melory has been recently knighted! She is a real Jedi now!"
Lyloo stared at her friend with widened eyes of shocked surprise. "Holy stars...", this was all she could say at first. Melory sheepishly turned her gaze to the ground, with a shy smile on her face.
"I know...I have to get used to it myself...", she said, causing her friend to laugh gaily again at her statement.
"Well...Congratulations to you!", Lyloo finally managed to speak again, embracing Melory once more.
Soon, Alton and Minna left the two young girls. Alton needed to bring his wife to safety, away from the horror near, as far away as possible...Minna was not a warrior. She disliked all that was in connection with battle, that's why she has never really learned the ways of fighting. Now, in the shadows of war, it would have been too dangerous for her to stay this close to the battle front...
After saying painful farewell to each other, the two females were finally left alone, with the opportunityfor a little conversation, trying to disregard the for now still distant noises of battle...one ear always listening, the guards ready to sound the alarm.
Melory and Lyloo picked out a corner at the feet of one of the big stages at the borders of the village, so they could keep close to see how the situation evolved.
As they sat down with their feets crossed, Lyloo asked the first of the many questions that came to her mind at the moment.
"Please tell me...how did it come to all this? What is this war about?"
Melory looked at her friend ruefully. "What is it about? It is about what most wars are started for...Independence! Change! The hunger for more power..."
She began to tell her about how the Clone Wars occured. How the threat of the Separatists overshadowed the Galaxy, bringing the war with itself. How system after system got into the crossfire of battle. How the Republic and the Jedi tried to restrain the disaster...abortively.
"Control is starting to fall out of our hands...Nobody knows when this war is going to finally end. That is something not even Master Yoda can foretell..."
Lyloo knew who Melory was talking about. Her lass has told her stories of the lovable little Jedi Master...one of the greatest and oldest of all Masters.
Melory's last words hung heavily in the air. Lyloo had no idea the situation was that bad. The battle that originally began in the core of the Galaxy didn't stop at the boarders of the inner rim...it threatened to consume everything in it's way, with the end of it's spread unknown...
Lyloo finally broke the silence that set upon them.
"You didn't come alone to Eoz, did you?", she asked, looking over to Melory from the corner of her eye.
"Of course not!", came her reply. "Four of us Jedi have come in pursue of the Separatist forces."
Lyloo had a hunch where Melory's comrades must be...
"Then...your friends are out there now...fighting too?", she slowly asked.
"Yes..." Melory gave out a deep sigh. "I would be out there too...I wish I would be...I wish I could help them...But my Master insisted that I stay here at the village and support the natives. He's afraid I'm still young to face this kind ofchallenge..." Lyloo could feel the frustration in her voice.
"You mean the fight?"
"No!", Melory snapped her head towards Lyloo. "I mean General Grievous..."
Lyloo looked at her with wide eyes for a moment.
"Who?" She didn't like the sound of that name.
"General Grievous.", Melory repeated, with another sigh. "He's the reason we are here for...We have been pursuing him for long months now. He is one of the most wanted leaders of the Separatists...The cunning military leader of the droid army." Melory paused a few moments before continuing. "Perhaps if we could nail Grievous, we could stop this conflict at it's sourse..."
As silence broke in once more, Lyloo tried to let the information sink in her mind...
"But...what is this General doing here on Eoz!"
Melory raised her head again to look at Lyloo.
"Eoz is just a stop for him. This green world has no strategic importance to the Separatists. This planet was just...in their path...", she tried to explain.
Lyloo closed her eyes in stupefaction. "Just in their path...", she whispered with exasperation. She could feel Melory's hand resting on her shoulder.
"I know...", she said. "I am so very sorry for all this...Hopefully, the fleet will leave Eoz soon. They probably have other targets to invade..." She knew this was a pretty cold comfort, yet she didn't know what else to say...War was so merciless...
After a longer pause, Lyloo steeled herself again, and asked her next question.
"Who is this...General Grievous? Is he really that...dangerous?", she intrigued, although she already knew the answer.
"Oh yes...He's the biggest threat the Jedi have ever faced...". Lyloo waited patiently for Melory to continue. The Nelvaan was deep in thought.
"Some might say he is no longer alive...A ruthless killing machine, designed to kill all the Jedi that might get in the way. A murderous "droid" without a soul..."
"Droid!", Lyloo looked at Melory incrediously.
"Yes...You see, this General is a cyborg...A living organism, enclosed in a duranium body...A robotic body designed for flawless killing...Just think, he was even trained in the ways of the Jedi. Though he is not Force-sensitive, he can wield lightsabers with such efficiency perhaps even some of the real Jedi would envy..."
Lyloo listened to her, holding her breath, frozen...A picture was forming in her mind. She could clearly see that eerie phenomenon infront of her again, his sword blazing, his reptilian eyes glowing, ready for battle...
"And to think he was a Kaleesh once...", Melory quietly added, rather to herself, wondering.
Lyloo slowly lifted her head at hearing this.
"What?", she said in a whisper, her voice hardly audible.
Melory raised her eyes to meet the gaze of Lyloo, a deep sadness in them.
"He was a son of Kalee. A great young general whose only purpose was to insure the security of his beloved planet and folk from the invading forces of the Huks...a neighbouring species which decided to attack Kalee and...yes, erase the inhabitants from existence. There was a big battle, a huge war. This General was one of the few hopes the Kaleesh had. An expert strategist, a cunning, gifted leader of the militia...Till that fatal day came." Melory paused to take in a deep breath. "He has suffered a severe shuttle crash. Probably a planned out one...His injuries must have been grave, his survival is truely a miracle.On Kalee, everybody thought he was dead. There were no news of survivors...The General has simply...disappeared."
"I know all this from the tellings of my father.", she continued. "Hewas thereseveral times before. Kalee has grown to his heart very much. I truely understand...I've visited the planet once too. The enviroment, the people...everything was so peaceful, so natural...until that godforsaken war broke out!" The sorrow was evident in her features. No hatred, no anger. Just pure grief.
"My father knew the inhabitants well. Though he didn't know General Shakar in person, he has heard about his deeds. He was shocked at the news of his accident as well..."
Lyloo just listened to the telling, staggered. The more she listened, the more she could feel through the severity of Melory's words. She automatically lifted her hand to touch the Kaleesh necklace hidden under her cloak...
"General Shakar...Is he General Grievous? But how...How did he survive?"
Melory's eyes grew stern. "He has become like this thanks to the Separatists. They somehow managed to rescue him, rebuild him...form him to their advantage...".Melory shook her head at the thought.
Lyloo could feel a bitter taste in her mouth. Kalee...A Kaleesh general...So much sorrow and pain...The information she received layed heavily on her mind. She needed time to conceive them...
Melory was silent too. She was so familiar with these events...and now, she was this close to the general believed dead...She has not told these thoughts to anyone else before. Although she had the suspicion, it was only recently since she discovered the truth of the General they were fighting against. She felt relieved after telling it all to Lyloo as well. She knew she could share it with her close Sphinx friend without worry. She needed to tell it to somebody...and she had so much more to tell...
As the minutes went by, neither of them spoke a word. Both of them were troubled by sombre thoughts...
However, these moments of silence did not last much longer. Lyloo and Melory both cocked their ears at the sounds of the explosions...the uproar of battle was nearing...